Tags: Brazil, currency, currency exchange rates, football world cup, summer travel, travel money

A strong British pound against leading international currencies including Brazilian currency means football fans travelling to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup will get more for their money this summer.

According a recent study by Post Office Travel Money, the British pound has strengthened against 40 leading currencies, including the Brazilian real, to give travellers better returns.

Compared to last year, estimates suggest football fans can get as much as a third more from their money when visiting this year’s World Cup host: Rio.

Home of the magnificent Maracana Stadium, Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugar Loaf Mountain, the city is a popular travel hotspot year after year.

Tourist numbers are expected to grow substantially over coming years as both the football World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games set up home in this vibrant country.

Significant returns

For those taking care of their travel money today, a return of 3.61 real per British pound is offered. This is 33% higher than last year when those visiting Brazil would have only received 2.7 real per pound.

Brazil is not the only country to offer such competitive returns for British travellers though.

According to the study, other leading tourist destinations such as South Africa, Russia, Turkey, Thailand, Australia, Jamaica and Peru have also seen their currencies crumple against the strength of the British pound.

The South African rand has dropped by almost 36% while the Turkish lira has fallen 33.1% compared to last February.

Even the euro has slipped 5.6% with current rates offering around 1.17 euro per pound. A similar story can be found in the USA where the American dollar is 9.6% weaker than the British pound.

Positive tourism

This is great news for travellers who can cash-in on the lucrative position to make the most of travel this year.

Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money explained:

“UK tourists can look forward to having more spending money in every holiday hotspot this year and they will be even better off if they pick a destination where local prices are down.”

This is true regardless of how tourists choose to take money with them on holiday.

Finance options for travellers

Travelling with a prepaid travel card can provide money to spend without the need to carry lots of travellers’ cheques or foreign currency.

With a prepaid card you can only spend the amount which is on it at any given time, making budget management possible, although it can be topped up if you so wish.

Additional security exists on these cards, while the exchange rate seen will be the one when the original transaction took place – providing protection should the exchange rate vary dramatically during a trip.